Washing machine



March l31. 1925.

G. C. GRAHAM WASHING MACHINE Filed 001'.. 18, 1924v Patented Manel, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1 GEORGE C. GRAHAM, OF WATEBTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

WASHING incarna.

Application led (lctoberA 18, 1924. Serial No. 744,809.

lTo all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. GRAHAM, a

.citizen of the United States, and resident of Watertown, county of Middlesex, State of .5 Massachusetts have invented an Improvef ment in Washing Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to washing machines of that type which comprises an eX- pansible and contractible chamber adapted to receive the clothes to be washed and communicating with a tank or receptacle containing the washing water or cleansing iiuid and means to alternately expand and con- 4tractsaid chamber whereby the washing water is alternately drawn into the chamber andexpelled therefrom.

One of the objects of the present inven? tion is to provide'a washing machine of this type which is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

In the present embodiment the expansible and contractible chamber in which the clothes are received is in the form of a cylinder in which operates a piston, the movement of the piston producing the variation` .in they volume of the chamber.

The cylinder is connected at one end to the tank containing the washing water so that as the piston is moved in one direction theiwashing water will be drawn into the cylinder whereby the clothes-will become saturated therewith while when the piston is moved in the other directionl the washing water will be squeezed out of the clothes and expelled from the cylinder.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawin a selected embodiment thereof which wil now be -described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The cylinder in which the washing operation is done is indicated at 1, the clothes 2 to bevwashed being placed within the cyl inder. 3 indicates a piston which operates in the cylinder. The ,cylinder is formed vat one end with a perforated partition 4 and with a vchamber 5 beyond the partition and between the latter and the cylinder end. This chamber 5V has connected thereto ya hose pipe or pipe connection, 6 which leads to a tank 7 containing washing suds or other cleansing fluid.

With this arrangement it will be apparent that during' the upward movement of the piston the suds or cleansing iuid .will be drawn4 from the tank 7 int'o, the cylinder and the clothes will become saturate there-4 with while during the downward movement of the piston the water will be squeezed out of the clothes and forced out of the cylinder-back into the tank 7I again.

In performing the washin po ration this movement of vthe piston wi lv Yand returned to the tank 7.

This cylinder may be supported in any suitable wayand I have herein shown it as Vlas ooi

relatively vslow -so that the washing water will be slowly but repeatedly drawn into thel mounted on a frame 8J The piston 3 may also be operated by any'f. appropriate means. That herein shown comprises a crank disk 9 mounted on a shaft 10 and operatively connected to the piston through means presen'tly to be described.' This crank disk 9 is actuated from a motor 11 through suitable reducing gearing, that herein shown comprising a worm 15on the motor shaft which meshes with and drives a worm gear 14 mounted on a shaft 13, the latter having a small gear 12'thereon which meshes with gear teeth-40 formed on the periphery of the crank disk 9.

The means. herein shown for operatlng the piston is constructed so that the stroke of the piston can be varied, this being desirable because a shorter stroke is necessary when the cylinder is well. iilled with clothes j than when there are only a few clothes'm the cylinder. Furthermore by roviding for varying the length of-stroke it 1s possible to use the device not only for washing purposes but also for drying the clothes.

The crank disk 9- isshown as having one end of a link 16 pivotally connected thereto, the other end of said link being pivoted at 41 to a lever 17 that in turn is pivoted to the frame at '18. This lever is provided with a slot 19 in. which operates a pin or connection 21 at .the upper end of a link 20 which is connected to the piston 3. The rotary motion of the crank disk 9 is thus trans- Ases mitted tothepiston through thelinks 16.

20 `and the lever 17 and the amplitude of movement-of the piston 3 will depend upon the position of the connection 21 in the slot'19. With the link 2O in the full line position the piston'will have a stroke of less piston is in the dot# clothes 2 inthe cylinder or removing them therefrom I have illustrated the cylinder as made in the two separable sections 28, 29. The 'section' 2.8 is shown as having ears 30 extending therefrom *to which are pivoted clamps 31 carrying clamping screws 32 that are adapted to engage ears 33`extend1ng from the cylindersection 29. When the clothes are to be placed in the cylinder sections or removed therefrom the piston 3 is raised tothe upper end of its stroke as shown in the drawings which bring it within the cylinder section 28 and the clamps may then be released thereby permitting the twocylinder sections to be separated. The j clothes may thenbe placed in or removed from the lower cylinder section after which the sections may be connected together again as shown in the drawings.

I have shown the cylinder section 28 as fixedly secured .tothe frame and the cylinder section 29 as the removable section.

In the operation of the device the clothes to be washed will first be placed in the cylinder and then the upper end of the link 20 willbe so adjusted in the slot 19, dependi ing on the amount of clothes in the cyllnder,

that when the crank disk9 is rotated the washing water will be drawn into the cylinder froml the tank 7 during the upstroke ofthe piston and during thev down stroke the clothes will be pressed sufficiently to squeeze the suds out of them. lContinued reciprocating of the vpiston will perform the washing operation as' above described.

When the clothes are suiciently washed l then the connection 20`may be adjusted to the right so as'to give 4the piston a longer stroke and the devicefmay be operated to bring the ,piston to the ylower end jof its stroke and to subject the clothes to high pressure which will squeeze substantially all the washingwater therefrom.

If'theA clothes are to be rinsed the pipe 6 is then connected to a tank 26 containing rinsing water and themachine a ain set in operation with the result that ,t e rinsing water will be drawn in tothe cylinder and into the clothes Iand then forced therefrom thus rinsing the clothes. During the rinsing operation the connection 20 may be adjusted back to its first osition indicated in fulllines. After the rinsing has been completed the connection 20 may then be shifted to the and the operation again repeated to' blue the clothes. After the blueing the clothes can9 i again be subjected to the heavy pressure by shifting the connection 20 to the dotted line position thus bringing them to a semi-driedv condition. v

I claim:

1. In a washing machine, the combination with a cylinder to cont-ain the clothes to be washed, of a receptacle containin washing water and with which the cylin er communicates at one end, a piston in the e linder and means to reciprocate the piston whereby the washin water is drawn from the receptacle into t e cylinder at said end and then is forced from said end of the cylinder back into the receptacle again.

2. In a washin machine, the combination with a cylinder aving a perforated partition extending thereacross adjacent one end, of av piston operating in the cylinder, the y'space between the cylinder and the partition Vconstituting a chamber to receive the clothes to be washed, a receptaclecontaining washing water, a pipe connection between -said receptacle and the, cylinder chamber beyond the partition, and means to operate the piston. i

3. In a washing machine, the combination with a cylinder having al perforated partition extending thereacross adjacent one end, of a piston operating in the cylinT der, the space between the cylinder and the partition constituting a chamber to receive the clothes to be washed, a receptacle con-f taining washing Water, a pipe connection between said receptacle' and the cylinder chamber beyond the partition, power mechanism to operatethe piston, whereby during 4. In a Washing machine, the combination with a cylinder made in'two separable sections and adapted t`o contain the clothes to 4be .washed, of a piston operating m the cyllnder, a receptacle to contain washing water, a pipe connection from tacle lto one end of the cylinder, to operate the piston whereby the washing water will be Ial-ternatel drawn into the said recepcylinder and expelled t erefrom and the clothes will-.be alternately saturated ywith and means the Washing Water and then squeezed suiiciently to force the Washing Water therefrom.

5. In a Washing machine, the combination withl a cylinder to contain the clothes to be Washed, of a receptacle containingwashing Water and with which the cylinder `communicates at one end, a piston in the cylinder, means to reciprocate the piston whereby 10 Washing Water is alternatelydrawn into the cylinder from the receptacle, the clothes b ecoming saturated therewith, and the clothes are then subjected to pressure to squeeze the washing Water therefrom and force it back into the cylinder, power mechanism for operating the pistonand means to vary the pressure to which the clothes are subjected.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE C. GRAHAM. 

